453. What's The One Question We Should Ask Unbelievers?

Frank Turek shares perhaps the most important question for an unbeliever.

[@simmoneswartz945]

"How could you NOT look into the most influential human being in history, if you're on a search for truth?" *MicDropMoment!*

[@NyndjaYT]

This comment doesn't make sense. The reason a great many unbelievers don't believe is because of all of the research they've done.

[@sherlockhomeless7138]

@@NyndjaYT Nah, most of them don't even know what pentecost means. That tells me they've never read the gospels

[@xuvial1391]

@@sherlockhomeless7138 And you probably don't know what the Eid Al-Fitr is, because you've never read the Quran. This type of argument doesn't really make sense.

[@jerrylanglois7892]

There first has to be truth to look into. Where is it ?

[@jerrylanglois7892]

@@sherlockhomeless7138 The gospels are not evidence and certainly not truth. They are just hearsay.

[@calekeene7998]

I'm an atheist. Thought I'd give my two cents if anyone wants to practice their proselytizing on me lol "If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian" Yes. I would. I believe in things when there is evidence for their existence. I believe in gravity and evolution because when I ask questions, I get thorough, precise answers backed up by a mountain of evidence. When I ask a Christian why they believe God exists, I always get some form of "I just know" or "If you pay attention, you can feel his presence" These answers are problematic. I've been to church. It was a pleasant and positive experience. I have been brought to tears in church, watching all the people lift their voices together and sing. It is a place that is (usually) full of love. It moved me. I imagine this is the feeling that Christians are referring to when they say that they can "feel" the presence of God. But, I've also been similarly moved by movies, stories, secular lectures, secular music, and many other things. Just because something is moving and emotionally charged does not make it literally true. God doesn't have to exist for us to feel those feelings. That emotion, that wonder, that magic...it is very possible that it exists WITHIN us. If you want to explore this idea further, and a more in-depth breakdown about how church services are designed to simulate a spiritual experience, here is a link to a really good video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZPXq2OlmL13m8k *I just want to note that I am not arguing that church services are emotionally manipulative in bad faith. I believe that the majority of pastors do believe they are spreading truth, but the tactics they use ARE emotionally manipulative, oftentimes unwittingly even to the pastor himself. "Reason cannot exist without God" Why not? Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements by a logical process. Why is God necessary for this process to take place? If God did not exist, 1+1 would still be 2. The stars and galaxies would still obey the laws of physics, and we would still be capable of observing and interacting with the world around us. We would still be able to find truth. Again, logic and reason are incredible, beautiful things, but they exist WITHIN us. Reason is a wonderous thing, but it's wonder alone does not indicate that it must come from God. "Atheists choose not to believe because they don't want moral accountability" This is just a strawman, so I won't say much here except that morality, like reason, can exist independently from God. I have a moral code. I would never harm a fellow human if I can help it. I do this because the process of evolution has allowed humans to feel a strong sense of empathy, and I can recognize that other people are just as valuable and important as myself. I don't need an all-knowing diety to threaten me with eternal torment to make me a good person. And guess what? NEITHER DO YOU. Be honest, if hell didn't exist, would you begin to rape, steal, and murder? If not, then morality must exist independently from God. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the 10 commandments were written by a human being. Man-made moral codes have existed since long before Christianity. The Code of Hammurabi was not written by God, but did it not promote morality? "Jesus was the most influential person in history" This may well be true, that certainly doesn't make him the son of God. Mohammed was also hugely influential, with Islam having more than a billion followers. Does that somehow prove he was literally in communication with God? Of course it doesn't. Furthermore, just because someone is influential does not make their ideas correct. Stalin was also one of the most influential people in history, does that mean that communism must be true? Yes, Jesus was influential, and his teachings are wise. That does not indicate at all that he actually cured lepers, walked on water, or turned water into wine. He probably didn't do any of these things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All in all, nothing said in this video indicates the existence of an Abrahamic version of God, like the one that exists in the Christian bible. It is impossible to say whether or not some higher power exists. Some people define God as the sum total of all the laws of the universe. Under this definition, God certainly exists. But I find it highly unlikely that an all-knowing, all-powerful, totally Good God exists who knows my every thought and knows the exact number of leaves on each tree. I find it hard to believe that this deity will judge me after my death, for I seriously doubt the existence of an afterlife at all. This ended up being a lot longer than I intended, lmao. Gotta get back to my homework now.

[@JavierRubi095]

Hello my friend, excuse me for my English, my mother tongue is Spanish, so I'll do an effort. I personally have an strong conviction of the existence of God by scientific evidence and rational arguments, like 'fine tuning' or Kalam argument, at first place; at second place, i started to read the Bible like two years argo 'by chance', and was very obvious to me that the wisdowm cointaned in this 66 books is not human (I usually think about the really big distance between Bible and probably the highest of the human books, El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha, that I have read by the way on his original language). No humans can write a book like that, if you asked me, we are not wise enought; light years of distance. At 3rd place, I experienced some events, no under the strong influence of drugs and in the presence of other witnesses, that can't been explained with a materialistic cosmovision: I mean real objets doing REALLY CRAZY STUFF. That conducted to me, against my previous believeng of years that I never will presence anything against law of phisycs and so on, to accept that there is another - we could say - spiritual realm mixed with the material one (again, sorry for my English). I can say very loud and clear than I have presenced miracles. I can't deny what my eyes have seen. And I insist: Bible is the book among the others books I know that better explains reality, by far. We are bad, there is divine justice and we need a Saviour. Have you study the most influential book of History? About the "Jesus was the most influential person in History" point, Dr. Turek was not arguing "Jesus was the most influential person in History, ergo Christianity is true". He was arguing: "Are you really worry about discovering the Truth and you haven't read about the most influential person in History?. I invite you to investigate about the evidence - what you say you like and that's fine to me - that points to the truth of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. About your other points, I think, roughly speaking, I'm agree. I believe, reading your words, that you are a good intentioned and rational person. I encourage you to keep in your search for truth and Christianity is a good stuff to consider, I can tell you that. I was not lookling for it, but God called my in a obvious miraculous way like two years ago, and I'm a new creature now. Not perfect, but way less ruined. We keep talking, if you want God bless you

[@Chrisplumbgas]

If you believe God does not exist, which indicates you would know the difference in realities if God does exist, what would reality be like for you to know if God actually existed? What would be different about what you see and experience?

[@ambervale6172]

As a biochemist, evolution is just a theory. It's called the theory of evolution, but so many universities these days forget that first part. There is no consensus when an organism has evolved when its DNA changes. Only when its morphology changes? Behavior changes? or just by one nucleotide to make that organism a separate species from what it was prior. Can people with chromosomal alterations be considered separate species? Understand that bacteria divide exponentially more than humans. Yet, to this day, geneticists and microbiologists call new "strains" of their bacteria some new "strain" and not some new species. Let's say that organism B is the evolved version of bacteria A.. If I were to let it divide in an environment that would allow it to divide much more rapidly than before, would it ever "evolve" to organism B. See this:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._coli_long-term_evolution_experiment This has never been repeated in lab and has never occurred in a lab. Thus evolution is a theory. Just because survival of the fittest makes sense doesn't mean that the whole theory makes sense.

[@gabrielacastro9616]

Going to give you just one reason to believe and also look into it. Design. You can look at creation and see that there was something we were created to see. Design. We know design when we see it and we know when something has been made. A secular teacher can teach students that their physical bodies were not designed and those kids will walk out of that class thinking they were not designed. But yet, when you see a dress you know that it has been designed and it has a designer. Psalm 139:14 “ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” he is looking at himself and he’s looking at his body. For example, how the body heals, when you get a cut and when the cut is exposed to the air it creates a natural bandaid. And naturally overtime the scab goes away. And then the skin regrows around it and the scab falls off and you can’t even tell there was a cut in the first place. But yet we have been convinced that we weren’t made/designed at all. We just came into being over time with slow incremental processes. Nothing + nothing = nothing Nothing + something = something. You know that after summer, fall is coming. Creation has order built into it. Order proves intelligence. Modern science tries to tell you that there is order in creation but there is no intelligence behind it. Example: you know what scientists are looking for when they look into space for life outside of earth? They are looking for intelligence. Do you know how they are trying to find intelligence? By listening to frequencies in the cosmos. You know what they’re listening to in those frequencies? They are listening for order. What they hear is just just random static that proves it’s just noise of celestial bodies of suns and stars etc. but they are constantly searching to find some type of order/ intelligence in the universe. Because they know order proves intelligence but yet they are telling you that your body and creation of body was not made by intelligent processes but by random processes minus intelligence.

[@calekeene7998]

@@gabrielacastro9616 fall comes after summer because as the the earth revolves around the sun, the angle of the suns light and heat changes, causing the temperature to drop and the days to shorten. I’m response to this changing environment, trees have evolved to shed their leaves in the colder months and regrow them in the spring. That doesn’t require any sort of intelligence, it is a simple cause and effect relationship. It’s a false equivalency to make between the changing of the seasons and a hypothetical alien radio signal. You say “you can look at creation and see design” but I don’t. There is no designer necessary for evolution to take place. If we were designed by an intelligent being, we wouldn’t have a useless appendix that can only kill us while providing no benefit. We wouldn’t be designed in such a way that puts so much pressure on our lower back that most people develop back pain as they age. There are many shortcomings to our “design,” so if there is a creator, he is not very good at his job in my opinion. It seem much more likely, then, that our physical shortcomings are due to the fact that life is always a work-in-progress. Life exists for its own sake, and it’s only goal is to continue itself. Over time different species have developed different methods of survival, and their physical bodies have changed over time to suit their specific environment. The universe is unfathomably vast and complex. We cannot begin to understand it’s scope or it’s secrets. But I think it is incredibly naive and arrogant to believe that all of this was designed with me in mind. The universe was not designed to cater to us. Rather, we are pieces of a universal whole that is constantly interacting with itself in a long chain of cause and effect relationships that dates back until at least the Big Bang. You are not an individual being looking at an exterior universe around you. You are a PART of the universe itself. You are an emergent property of an uninterested universe, much like a flame. When the correct conditions are met, consciousness arises. It sustains itself as long as it can, and then it dies, just like everything else. No fire can burn forever, because eventually you run out of fuel. Even the sun will burn out. And once again, I just think that it’s incredibly naive and arrogant to think that we are the only things in the entire universe that are eternal.

[@AArkadij]

So! You had an opportunity to ask "Why not?" But instead, you have constructed your own answer that your are putting in someone else's mouth. This question isn't straightforward? What does it mean that Christianity is real? Does it mean the God is real? The scripture is real? The institution is real? If it is real then which one? There are dozens of denominations. This creates a range of interpretations to your question, that can produce a range of answers from different people. You ask an ambiguous question. You don't try to clarify the response. And then come up with your own favourite tale that makes you feel superior. That is a remarkable level of intellectual dishonesty.

[@dimitrisleo]

It's a pretty simple question. If you could find absolute proof of Jesus being God,would you follow the Christian way of life? Would you only have sex inside a marriage? Would you try to live a holy life? Would you follow what Jesus asks people to do? Many people don't want it to be true, because it's a difficult way of life and they would have to let go of many things that feel good in this life.

[@heloisaheng3189]

Thank you! Very good question

[@guyjosephs5654]

No it’s not, because there is a difference between acknowledging that specific religion is true and worshiping that specific god. Frank tends to leave out many important details either because he ignores other religious views or because then his question doesn’t work for his argument.

[@xuvial1391]

Frank comes across as incredibly egotistic, arrogant, un-empathetic, and borderline narcissistic in this clip. Is he usually like that? In regards to his one question, he might as well ask "If the earth was flat, would you be a flat-earther?". It's a nonsensical question, because it asks the person to guess what beliefs they would hold if the universe worked differently. If Christianity was actually true and the Christian God was real, then that fact would have been as self-evident as gravity. There would be no *need* to ask anyone if they were Christian or not. If Christianity was true, we would be living in a world of supernatural magic where the laws of reality could be bent (or broken) just by having enough faith to do so. The kind of world portrayed in Biblical stories flat-out doesn't reflect reality as we know it, and it has ALL the hallmarks of being manmade fantasy involving ancient superstitions, myths, legends, etc. The fact that a small group of men in ancient Middle East went to their deaths believing in a magical event isn't even remotely proof that Jesus had supernatural powers. It's a total non sequitur. What it DOES prove is that a small group of men became convinced to die for their leader because they were promised eternal rewards in the afterlife (see: cults).

[@dimitrisleo]

You would be right except these people were witnesses to the facts. People die for their ideas and faith all the time, that's a known fact. Muslims do it, even secular ideas like political ideologies can make humans martyrs. But if you have stolen the body from the tomb or created all this yourself, you know this is all a big lie. So why would you die for a lie? A scammer needs to get something out of the scam. The apostles didn't get anything out of it. If on the other hand you are convinced about it, how did you get convinced? Did they all had massive hallucinations? And how did they convince others after that? The pharisees could find Jesus body and end this cult in 1 day. But they didn't. Because the body wasn't there. The apostles are either liars(doesn't make any sense) or crazy(doesn't make any sense either) or they are telling the truth. The only way out of this for an atheist is to claim all of this didn't happen and the gospels have been changed at a later point in time, but this isn't supported by the majority of scholars. Didache was created around 60-80 ad, so this argument is not supported by the facts either. I know it's not easy to comprehend, but Christianity has a good chance of being true. I know people don't want to believe in a false cult, but that doesn't mean that Christianity is false. I understand skepticism and doubt, but we have to admit, something doesn't add up in the story without a supernatural solution.

[@justincameron9661]

Great video

[@danicaauge983]

Gotta love that Dr. Frank!!!!!!!!!!!! Amen 🙏

[@joekilbreth3901]

"What's the ONE question we should ask unbelievers..." is definitely a real question, but it's poorly framed: It assumes there's a "goal" question to ask. If this is so, then I would argue the one question to ask unbelievers is if they want to become a Christian. The issue with this is that, while it's the vital question, it's almost impossible to get anywhere if it's the FIRST question you ask. Along the lines of what the FIRST question to ask might ought to be, I wouldn't ask a yes-or-no question like "If Christianity were true, would you believe it?" This is indeed an excellent question, but it requires follow-up questions in order to get to the MOST IMPORTANT question (as I stated above). Jesus didn't ask a question like that, but He did ask questions like: "Why do you call me Teacher?" - Why is this significant?...Here's what I think the "best, first question" might ought to be: "Where can we get truth from?" or maybe, "How do we know what's true?" If you can get to the source (and get the other person to that same source) of where we get truth from--be it the Bible, personal experience, popular opinion, etc.--then you can begin to ask and answer all the other necessary questions that lead up to the BEST question, such as "To you, who is Jesus?" "Do you know what will happen to you when you die (if anything)?" and of course, "If Christianity were true, would you believe it?"

[@jerrylanglois7892]

We don't know what jesus said. He left not one written word and everything '' jesus said '' was said by people who never knew him.

[@dukeofsahib4967]

The problem with the question is that it fails to account that there is a big difference between the acknowledgement of the existence of God and the worship of God. It would be like asking this question: If Justin Trudeau was the prime minister of Canada then would you join the Justin Trudeau fan club? I acknowledge that Justin Trudeau is the prime minister of Canada. However does that mean I have to like him or even worship him? Does that mean I should have to join the Justin Trudeau fan club to be consistent? Of course not. I would simply acknowledge his position as Prime Minister. The same would go for God. If Christianity were true a lover of truth would definitely acknowledge the existence of the Christian God but the worship of the God is a different matter.

[@dimitrisleo]

So God creates everything, his power is unfathomable. He gives us consciousness and everything else, he tells you he wants a relationship of love with you as his child, and you find it a good idea to not accept this. This is 100% absurd from a logical perspective.

[@Colddirector]

@@dimitrisleohe wants a relationship of “love” where you have to follow his many specific rules - some of which do not make sense and he does not justify, and if you don’t want that relationship he’s going to throw you into his torture dungeon forever. It might be “logical” in the sense of giving a mugger your wallet is “logical”, but the way I was raised, I do not negotiate with terrorists.

[@vermilionrubin]

That's a loaded question, but basically if everyone knew that christian god exist would I know he exist? Well duh, by definition I would. Would I worship him? Depends, if it would be a complete knowledge of him, only then could I truly decide if he is worthy of worship or not.

[@dimitrisleo]

If he exists, he is the creator of everything. Why would an ant decide to judge the creator of everything? How does that make any sense at all? If God exists, he is so superior to us that we can't even comprehend. It's a good idea to be humble and let him lead.

[@vermilionrubin]

@@dimitrisleo Even if he exists, and is the creator, if he is malicious then even if it would be pointles many would defy him worship.

[@dimitrisleo]

@vermilionrubin Fair enough. Standing up to a tyrant, especially if you are much weaker, is something I respect. But since God tells us he is love and everything good, it's much more possible that we are misunderstanding him, rather than him being evil. I also think that many Christians are misrepresenting God because they are not understanding him. God did say many would listen to his words but not understand. I think part of the test here on Earth is to prove we can obey God even if we are not sure what his plans are. The fear of God being evil is a valid one, but if he is evil, we are screwed anyway. Much more probable scenario, He is all good and we are just not understanding.

[@angelak8681]

Christ is Truth not the church which has distorted Christ, sadly. I do say for some/many it's a great stepping stone as it was for me, but I went through much to find the real church and that was through the Holy Spirit who teaches us, I have no need for mans or a churchs opinion anymore.

[@andydee1304]

As an atheist, I'd have to say no. If God is the ultimate perfect being and can do nothing wrong, then he's failed because I can think of a way to avoid everything that went wrong for God by just not having the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden in the first place. If it were a test to see what would happen, it's a really irresponsible test and God should feel ashamed of himself for making such a schoolboy error. If you proved Islam were true, I wouldn't become a Muslim either. Islam is slightly less silly, but silly nonetheless.

[@joekilbreth3901]

I won't presume to know the mind of God, but it seems that the only way to know if someone loves you enough to obey you (assuming this was God's goal), then denying that someone the option to say "no," precludes the possibility of love. In other words, if I don't give you the option to NOT love me, then how can I say that I know you actually DO love me (since you don't have a choice in the matter)? Christianity's or Islam's claims may be true, or they may be not. But it's also worth considering that, if I, a Christian, am wrong and nothing happens to you when you die (you sort of just cease to exist), then I've lost nothing that's worth gaining when I die. If, however, an Atheist is wrong about your existence ceasing upon death, and God is real, etc, then they have lost EVERYTHING worth gaining when they die. Either way, THANK YOU for sharing your views and thoughts, especially since we disagree. Your view challenges me and other Christians to examine our own beliefs, and that's a good thing!

[@andydee1304]

@@joekilbreth3901 If Christianity is right, I'm not worried in the slightest because the Christian God is an idiot and I'll easily be able to outsmart him. He got outsmarted by a snake at the very beginning of the book, FFS! Also, obedience isn't a manifestation of love, it's a manifestation of respect. I obey the laws of my country because I respect my country, I don't love it. I pay my taxes because I respect my fellow citizens, I don't love them. Christianity has no respect for anyone, not even themselves because they make themselves subject to superstition and idiocy.

[@joekilbreth3901]

​@@andydee1304 You make a good point: Obedience isn't necessarily predicated on love. There are many people and rules we obey with other motivations in mind. However, when one doesn't fully understand the consequences of disobeying an authority (Satan portrayed those consequences as positive benefits in the garden), and then chooses to trust that authority our of respect, that can go a long way toward a loving relationship. In contrast to your position, I'd say that I DO love my country and countrymen, in a way. Not like I love my wife, or like I "love" pizza, but a type of love...and that type of love manifests itself much the same way your view does (I'd assume): in respectful actions like obeying the law of the land and seeking the general good of my neighbor. As far as "outsmarting" God, that's an interesting point. However, even if you or I are "smarter" than an authority (and if God is all-powerful, as He claims), that doesn't mean that we can avoid consequences clearly laid out by that authority. Since you seem to liken God to a bad or evil authority, here's an example that may help illustrate my point: Your hypothetical boss at work isn't as intelligent as you. You're smarter and you know it. Maybe your boss knows it, maybe he doesn't. Either way, he's said that if you show up late for work two days in a row, you'll be fired. Now, you know that if the company fired you, they'd be losing more than their gaining. It might even make more sense to you that YOU should be the boss, since you're smarter than he is in this situation. However, for all the higher intelligence/skill/knowledge you possess over your boss, he's still your boss and you simply do not have the authority to change whether or not you're hired/fired. This is similar to the authority of God. Even if we disagree with His methods or morals, that doesn't change the fact that He has created a world where there are consequences for our actions. He's asked us to do certain things, and clearly stated from the beginning what the consequences of obedience and disobedience are... I'm sorry this is so long-winded, and if you've read this far, I applaud you :). I look forward to your reply and continuing this conversation whenever you get the time!

[@andydee1304]

@@joekilbreth3901 regarding you boss analogy, I'd tell that boss to take his job and shove it, and look for a better job with a boss who was smarter than me. If God claims to have authority and doesn't see his subjects of worthy of an explanation, there's a word for that: fascist. God sent Jesus to die for my sins. Cool, so what? If I have to worship Jesus to be saved then it's a transaction, not a gift or a sacrifice.

[@joekilbreth3901]

​@@andydee1304 Yeah, my "boss" analogy isn't perfect. For one, if God is the supreme, sovereign being He claims to be, then our lives couldn't be compared to a job that we can just "quit" and go find another boss. And yes, it would be frustrating if God offered no explanation at all for His actions. However, the Bible IS that explanation. Sure, it doesn't explain His entire thought process about anything and everything, but it DOES help us understand His plan for us and His goal for the entire history and future of the world. I might argue that a fascist is someone who seeks authority they don't rightly deserve or merit. A timeless, spaceless, immaterial, and all-powerful Creator on the other hand, would not have any higher authority to appeal to; Certainly such a being would not be answerable to the opinions of His own creations. But of course, I'll restate that God HAS communicated His most important thoughts and purposes for us through the Bible. Also, to clarify, God does not "require" our worship in order to save us, per se. He requires our submission to Him. That submission is CHARACTERIZED by obedience, worship, etc. Yes, God commands us to "be holy as [He] is holy" (1 Peter 1:16) along with many other commands, but our salvation is not predicated on our ability to follow all those commands. Quite the opposite: Christ died for our sins because it's IMPOSSIBLE for us to follow all the commands God gives us. We need a Savior because we are sinful. We don't "earn" eternal life by being perfect. I believe you'd agree there's never been a perfect person in all of history. Now, before you say, "a god who requires my submission is fascist" or something along those lines, keep in mind, that God does not need or require our obedience or submission. He ASKS us for it, and offers us free salvation if we CHOOSE to take it. Again, if He forced us to love Him, it wouldn't be love at all.

[@AdreamlyfeByMichelle]

Bingo! 🎯

[@kvelez]

0:51 HAHA.

[@mackinm00se]

Nothing like red meat for Christianity 😋

[@jerrylanglois7892]

No, spoiled meat.

[@obdios]

Well said

[@bunkyman8097]

The question assumes Christianity is the only and best religion there is. What a selfish and superior attitude. I don't need it.

[@onedone7988]

Jesus Christ claimed He is the truth and the life (John 14:6) No religious figure (cult leaders excluded) have ever made a claim close to it

[@bunkyman8097]

So Mohammed has made no such claim or the Muslim people do not feel as you do? There are currently 4,000 gods being worshipped, but don't worry because yours is the only true, believable one. When you understand why you reject 3,999 for your own, you will understand why I reject yours.

[@dimitrisleo]

Christianity is based on an event you can investigate. We don't ask you to blindly follow Christianity. Look into the death and ressurection first. If you can find a convincing reason other than a supernatural event for what happened(I can't), then you can dismiss the religion as not true. But you should look into what happened first. It's what apologetics are all about.

[@jerrylanglois7892]

Exactly, it's no more valid or invalid than all the others.

[@jerrylanglois7892]

@@onedone7988 Yes, it's a claim, an empty claim.

[@alfredolositi]

First comment?